Sisters' Love
by nekoftal
Summary: The Black sisters weren't always fractured. Narcissa, Bellatrix, and Andromeda shared a bond that only sisters can have. Unfortunately, love bonds and breaks. One-shot.


**I don't own these characters. Hope y'all enjoy!**

Cygnus and Druella Black were the perfect examples of what a the Noble and Pure House of Black stood for. Both were controlling, opinionated, and sly, albeit in slightly different ways. It was an arranged marriage, but both were perfectly fine with that fact for it could have been much worse. Cygnus could have married that screaming banshee, Walburga, and wouldn't that have been a nightmare. Druella could have married that arrogant little brat, Orion, and that would have been unbearable. So really, it could have been much worse.

They did grow to love each other. It took several years and a child, but in the end, they had somehow learned to love each other. That love spread throughout the household as one child turned into three. That love brought the family together, but in the end, that love also tore it apart.

In the beginning, their family was everything they wished for. Their children couldn't have been better.

Bellatrix was the eldest. She was a vivacious girl, with the classic Black looks of untamable black hair and eyes coupled with cunning, brilliance, and tenacity. She was every bit the warrior she was named after, fierce and gifted with a bit of wildness.

Andromeda was the middle child. She was an obedient girl, a perfect combination of her parents with the untamable Black hair in Rosier brown and the Black tenacity with Rosier intelligence. She fulfilled her role as the princess, prim and proper with just a hint of rebellion.

Narcissa was the youngest. She was a sensitive child, with the rare blonde Rosier hair and blue eyes added to a dreamy mind and delicate heart. She embraced her history as the narcissist and tried to forge a new path for herself with passion, fantasy, and just a touch of reasoning.

The Black sisters were just that. Never separated and almost always referred to as "The Black Sisters". They grew to form an enormously strong bond although they were spread out in age with Bellatrix being nearly four years older than her youngest sister. The learnt the pureblood ways, associated themselves with high culture, despised those below them in both class and wealth, and last, but certainly not least, loved each other.

From the start of her memories, Bellatrix had always been taught that family was everything. It didn't matter if said family was annoying, crazy, or a crackpot, family was family and one could never turn one's back on family. She was taught that family meant everything, that they were to be loved and cherished. It was with this belief instilled within her that Bellatrix treated her sisters. They were her family which meant that they meant the world to her. Anyone who messed with her sisters would answer to her. She made sure that it was perfectly clear to everyone.

When she was eight, Andi six and Cissy four, they had attended Cissy's first society meeting together. It wasn't a particularly important day, no birthday or celebration, so the children had been allowed to run and play around in the yard of the host, the Mulciber family. Her sisters and herself separated themselves from the rowdy boys (Cousin Sirius seemed almost tame compared to the Nott heir) and amused themselves by engaging in polite talk with the rest of the girls. Mostly it was just Andi and Hemera Troyard talking about the books they read and Henrietta Nott and Loretta Rowle gossiping nonstop. Really it was quite unamusing, but there wasn't much else to do. Only a couple minutes later Cissy complained about being bored so Bellatrix broke Andi away from her conversation on books to help Cissy build a flower chain. She and Andi were busy gathering daises when they heard Cissy cry. Bellatrix turned around to see that Avery Mulciber was roughhousing her little sister. Now, Bellatrix knew that they were all purebloods, but even purebloods had their own class distinctions between the families and the Mulciber families were in the middle, much below the Blacks. Really, he should have known better than to threaten or tease her sister. She was onto him like a harpy in mere seconds. Alternating between screeching at Mulciber and comforting Cissy, she soon drew the attention of the adults. Of course, she was forced to apologize (but not until Mulciber did so first) and her mother conveyed her disappointment, but Bellatrix didn't care. If she could protect her family, she would endure far more than a scolding.

Bellatrix was taught to fight and protect her family that she loved.

From the start of her memories, Andromeda was taught that family was everything. It didn't matter if the outside world was in war, burning, or falling into ruins, what mattered was that her family was whole and together. She was taught that family meant everything, that they were to be loved and cherished. It was with this belief instilled within her that Andromeda treated her sisters. They were her family which meant that they meant the world to her. She would make sure that they stayed together forever. She made sure that is was perfectly clear to everyone.

When Andromeda was eight, Bella ten and Cissy six, they entered the political world for the first time. Well, not them, only Bella. She was going to Hogwarts next year so their father had deemed it necessary for her to learn about alliances and compromises. They left early in the morning to meet the other families in the Wizengamot. When they came back, late in the afternoon, Bella did not look the same as what she looked like in the morning. Her black eyes that had, just hours ago, seemed so cheery and light now shone with anger and malice. It wasn't just her eyes, that anger and cruelty carried into her emotions as well. She was snappy and argumentative. In just a few hours, Bella had successfully pushed Cissy into crying multiple times and successfully sparked several arguments between the siblings. And Andromeda hated it. They were supposed to stand together, not hurt each other. Seeing that Bella's dark mood was certainly not going to go away naturally, Andromeda devised a plan to bring it down on her own. When night had fallen, and after a copious amount of disagreement between the sisters, Andromeda quietly crept downstairs into the kitchen. She climbed onto the shelf and carefully extracted a small box and a bottle. Grabbing an empty fruit basket from the counter and putting the aforementioned items inside it, Andromeda raced back upstairs to Cissy's room. She gently pushed Cissy awake and motioned for Cissy to follow her. They crept down the hairs, their footsteps silent and hair gleaming in the moonlight. At the end of the hall, they stopped and Andromeda carefully pushed the door opened. Bella blearily woke up as they entered. Andy gave her a toothy smile as she climbed up into Bella's bed and set the basket between them. She pulled out the box and the bottle revealing Honeyduke's finest chocolate and apple cider. Bella and Cissy both grinned as they started in on the midnight snack. Of course, she was discovered the next morning and scolded by her mother, but Andromeda didn't care. If she could bring her sisters together, a scolding was more than worth it.

Andromeda had learned that a broken family was no family at all.

From the start of her memories, Narcissa was taught that family was everything. Family dictated where you would go in life, what you would do, who you would love, it protected you, and you honored it. She was taught to love her family and its ideals, even more than she loved herself. She would uphold her family's ideals and honor, her sister's thoughts and pride even if the world around them fell. She made sure that is was perfectly clear to everyone.

When Narcissa was five, Andi seven and Bella nine, they had all been forced into dancing lessons. They had to know how to waltz and ballroom dance so they didn't as mother put it "horrible humiliate our House to hugely high-ranked Hungarian houseguests by hovering hungrily around ham and hazelnuts" during their party for the previously mentioned "Hungarian houseguests". The teacher was a highly acclaimed dancer and seemed very strict. During their lessons, she was constantly pushing their tempers and pointing every single little mistake. It was worst for Andi because Andi was insecure, being the middle child and all. She thought she was less special than her siblings, even though both herself and Bella had dispelled that notion multiple times. After more than a couple of comments from the instructor about Andi's footwork and posturing, Andi quietly suggested that perhaps the teacher had been thinking about another dance and that she was sure that the form she held was correct for the Hungarian Waltz. The teacher snorted and waved away all of Andi's objections because "little girls hardly knew anything". The next day, the teacher got quite a nasty surprise. When she arrived at the Black home, there was a book open to a page on the Hungarian Waltz complete with pictures of the form that went with it. Red faced, she apologized to Andi (who was completely clueless of what happened) and left the premises. Of course, her mother eventually did find out and scolded Narcissa for making her go through the trouble of finding another dance instructor for the sisters, but Narcissa didn't care. If she upheld the beliefs of her family, a little scolding was nothing.

Narcissa learnt that family was just as precious as the ideas that backed it.

The sisters each made up an important part of their little trio. Each was a pillar that supported the others. They were like a wand almost. Bellatrix was the wood that protected them from outside harm. Andromeda was the glue that held them together. Narcissa was the core that coveted their beliefs and pride.

Perhaps and most probably, it was Hogwarts that changed the sisters the most and ruined their family. First to go was Bellatrix. She left her sisters with promises that she would visit them over break. When she left, it was just Andromeda and Narcissa. For the first time in years, their trio was split. While she was gone, there was nobody to protect them, nobody to shield them from politics, nobody to look over them. With the wood gone, the glue was exposed and it dried hard and fast around the core. Andromeda and Narcissa forged an even stronger connection than before, but Bellatrix's absence also forced Andromeda to grow up quickly, taking the role of two people, herself and Bellatrix. She fractured and cracked, but somehow they made it until Bellatrix came back for break. Two years later, Andromeda also left. Then, it was just Cissy, the core that lacked protection. Without her sisters, the conversations of adults around her began to affect the way she thought and acted. Narcissa adapted the only way she could, by gaining the protection of people around her and representing their ideals. She modeled her mother, gossipy and social, concerned with appearances. When her sisters came back, she forced herself to become what she once was, and somehow, not all their precious ideas were lost. Finally, after two years, Narcissa joined her sisters in slytherin. Together, at last.

It didn't last long though. In Hogwarts, the love that had once bound them together, now tore them apart. In the case of Bellatrix, she was arranged to marry Rabastan Lestrange, but she fell into an obsessional love with Tom Riddle. His dark ways and charismatic nature drew her away from her sisters. She started her rants of purity even more loudly and convinced than before because Tom had defended them with everything he had and that only made her more convinced of his views.. She pushed against Narcissa and Andromeda, becoming more and more obsessive about a boy. It was undeniably that obsessional love that separated Bellatrix from her dearest sisters. Perhaps it was Bellatrix that drove Andromeda away. In the case of Andromeda, she started a forbidden love with a muggleborn Hufflepuff, Ted Tonks. She drifted away from her sisters, always rushing out to meet Ted. He always made her feel as though she was part of a whole, and she loved him for that. She wove a tale of lies around them to hide it, but it was undeniably that forbidden love that snatched her from her sisters. In the case of Narcissa, she ran from her sisters' distance straight into a fairytale romance with Lucius Malfoy. He was a pureblood, and politically important as well, and Narcissa knew that he was perfect for her. HE treated her like a queen and believed in everything she did. She began to dream, about her future with Malfoy and left her sisters behind. It was undeniably that fairytale love that tricked Narcissa away from her sisters.

They hadn't realized it, at least not for a while. They had thought everything was perfect. By the time they realized, they were too far to ever bind together again. It was like the wand had simply fallen apart. The steel clanked loudly as it dropped to the ground, the glue slipped off and formed a small puddle, the core wilted and lightly fell to the ground. There was nothing to bring them together. Nothing. Of course, they had tried. But one day ruined it all.

Bellatrix had planned to meet Tom in the afternoon so she left early, before lunch. She knew that she and her sisters always ate together on Saturdays, but today she couldn't bring herself to care. It was Tom after all and he didn't like to be kept waiting. Narcissa had eagerly waited for both her sisters at the lunch table, but only Andromeda was there when she announced her engagement to Lucius Malfoy. She was vaguely annoyed that her eldest sister had skipped their traditional Saturday lunch and missed the happiest announcement of Narcissa's life so far. Andromeda had skittishly been avoiding her sisters all day because she planned her runaway right after their traditional lunch. One last sisterly memory before she was blasted off the family tapestry for marrying a "mudblood". When she arrived at the table, she had been utterly crushed to see only Narcissa, and when she heard Narcissa's announcement, she felt a fresh wave of guilt wash upon her. She would ruin Narcissa's special day. Trying to avoid the inevitable pain, Andromeda stayed until dinner.

Later that night, when her parents were asleep, and when she and her sisters gathered in the living room to talk, Andromeda informed them of her plan. Of course, Bellatrix was instantly enraged. She cursed and howled, screamed and insulted Andromeda. For Bellatrix, Andromeda was no longer family. She had ceased to be family when she loved that mudblood and now she had to protect Cissy from this stranger with these horrible ideas. But as her rant went on, her heart spoke and for the first time since Ani was born, she cried. Her Andi was leaving her; her Andi was breaking them apart. Powerful, Strong, Fierce Bellatrix cried for Andi, for her baby sister to stay with them. Narcissa, on the other hand, had cast a powerful silencing charm around the room, knowing that Bella would explode. She eyed Andromeda silently. She knew what it felt like to love someone completely and with all one's heart, but by doing so, Andi was breaking her family's ideals. Narcissa pleaded and begged, reasoned and compromised for Andi to stay. Her sorrow eventually turned to rage and for the first time, she screamed at her Andi. Her Andi that she never in her wildest dreams would have thought would leave her and wholeheartedly disagree with her. Sweet, Innocent, Beautiful Narcissa swore with rage and grief to kill the man who stole her wonderful older sister Andi away from her. Andromeda looked in sadness towards her sisters. They had been broken the moment Bellatrix left for Hogwarts and a broken family wasn't a family at all. They weren't her sisters anymore, and Ted was her family. With him, she was complete, they were whole. Her confidence faltered as she looked her sisters in the eyes. Her logical reasoning warped and for the first time, Andromeda caused arguments between her sisters. Her sweet sisters were hurting, and she was doing this to them. Agreeable, Calm, Diplomatic Andromeda screamed with conviction that the Black family had fallen apart, that she was no longer one of them. With every word that passed from their mouths, the last remaining strands of their bond snapped one by one until there was only the slightest of strands loosely connecting them. With every word, happy memories disintegrated in the face of their rage until only a handful remained.

By the time morning had come, Andromeda was gone, Narcissa was crying, Bellatrix was screeching and their hearts lay in pieces. The love that had once made them sisters tore them apart as the sisters left each other, willingly.

In Azkaban, Bellatrix lay in her dingy cell as the dementors feasted on her happy memories, and brought forth her sadness. Over and over, she watched Andi leave her. Over and over, over and over, until she thought her heart would break. The Dark Lord had distracted her from grief, and empowered her with rage, but now that he was gone, and the dementors were here, she could only think of her sisters. Oh, how could she have let this happen? How? By the time she was freed, Bellatrix had resolved to kill those who took Andi away from her, Ted Tonks and Nymphadora Tonks, the two people Andromeda Tonks loved now.

In the Malfoy Manor, Narcissa sat in her study. Her precious Draco had left for school and Lucius was busy politicking. Now she was alone. She pulled out a box from her bookcase, carefully hidden behind several large tomes. She opened it to see the faces of her sisters laughing and staring up at her. Tears, unbidden sprung in her eyes. What happened? How did she let them drift so far away? Day after day, she did this, only stopping when the male members of her family returned home. Years later, when the Dark Lord rose again, Narcissa resolved to kill him who took both Bellatrix and Andromeda away from her, Tom Riddle. He had driven Bellatrix far, far away from them, and he would pay for it.

In her home, Andromeda lay in bed, thinking. She kept wondering what would have happened if she had stayed. Would Bellatrix still be in Azkaban? Would she have seen Narcissa? Where would she be? She knew that as much as she wanted to blame it on Hogwarts, the one who truly broke her sisters was herself. But weren't they broken far before that? Year after year, hour after hour, the questions persisted. When the time came to fight, Andromeda was determined to kill all those who stood in her way, between her and her sisters, be it light or dark.

After the war, when Tom Riddle was dead and gone, when Ted Tonks was dead and gone, when Nymphadora Tonks was dead and gone, when all those between the sisters was dead and gone, Andromeda and Narcissa met by Bellatrix's gravestone. At the very end, when the war was over, they were together again, in their hearts, till their deaths. Much like how love drove them apart, love brought them together once more. Even though one was dead, and the others widowed, they were sisters again, and family again.

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End file.
